WTTE
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2012) |
FCC | |
Facility ID | 74137 |
---|---|
ERP | 1,000 kW |
HAAT | 271 m (889 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°56′14″N 83°1′16″W / 39.93722°N 83.02111°W |
Links | |
Public license information |
WTTE (channel 28) is a
A charter Fox affiliate from the network's sign-on in 1986 until 2021, WTTE also served as the Fox station of record for the nearby Zanesville, Ohio, market.
History
WTTE began operations on June 1, 1984, as the first general-entertainment
WTTE quickly became the dominant independent station in the area largely because its programming policy was far less conservative than that of the other independent in the area,
Merger with WSYX
In 1996, Sinclair merged with River City Broadcasting, owner of WSYX. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules at the time did not allow one person to own two stations in a single market. Sinclair kept the longer-established WSYX and nominally sold WTTE to Glencairn, Ltd. owned by former Sinclair executive Edwin Edwards. However, nearly all of Glencairn's stock was held by the Smith family, founders and owners of Sinclair. In effect, Sinclair still owned WTTE, and now had a duopoly in Columbus in violation of FCC rules. Sinclair and Glencairn further circumvented the rules by moving WTTE's operations into WSYX's Dublin Road studios under a local marketing agreement, with WSYX as senior partner. Glencairn owned ten other stations—all in markets where Sinclair also had a station. Sinclair was eventually fined $40,000 for its illegal control of Glencairn. The two companies attempted to merge in 2001 after the FCC allowed duopolies. However, the FCC would not allow Sinclair to repurchase WTTE. The FCC does not allow duopolies between two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market. Also the Columbus market, despite its relatively large size, has only seven full-power stations—too few to legally permit a duopoly. WTTE thus remained under the banner of Glencairn, which was then renamed Cunningham Broadcasting. However, the Smith family still controls nearly all of Cunningham's stock, so Sinclair still effectively had a duopoly in Columbus. By nearly all accounts, Sinclair has used Glencairn/Cunningham as a shell corporation to evade FCC ownership rules.
In 2000, WWHO switched its affiliation to UPN, but signed a deal with The WB to retain its programming on a secondary basis through what a Paramount Stations Group executive described as a "program license agreement."[2] As a result, WTTE picked up half of Kids' WB!'s weekday programming and aired it alongside its usual Fox Kids programming. This arrangement continued until 2001.
In 2006, all Sinclair-controlled Fox affiliates including WTTE extended their affiliation contracts until at least March 2012. WTTE-DT2 was formerly an affiliate of
According to Nielsen Media Research in the May 2011 ratings period, WTTE was the second most watched Fox affiliate in the United States in prime time. The station remained intensely competitive in the Columbus television market with it remaining an extremely strong competitor against WBNS-TV and WCMH-TV averaging roughly 300,000 viewers each night during the station's 10 o'clock newscast despite its earlier time slot. As WTTE-DT1 or currently, WSYX-DT3, it typically wins the demographic viewership battle each and every ratings period. The demographic win is a much sought after attribute for television sales associates in the area for local advertising purposes.
On October 18, 2010, the station reactivated its 28.2 digital subchannel for the first time since December 2006, with theCoolTV, a music video network which, unlike The Tube, had E/I programming pre-inserted as part of its national schedule. The network was discontinued as of August 31, 2012.
WTTE was also considered an alternate ABC affiliate airing that network's programs when WSYX is unable to do so such as during a breaking news emergency or local special.
On May 15, 2012, Sinclair and Fox agreed to a five-year extension to the network's affiliation agreement with the 19 Fox stations owned or controlled by Sinclair, including WTTE, allowing them to continue carrying the network's programming through 2017.[3]
On June 23, 2014, Sinclair signed a deal with
On June 1, 2017, Sinclair replaced GetTV with TBD on WTTE's 28.2 subchannel. TBD is operated by Sinclair Television Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
On August 21, 2017, WTTE's 28.3 subchannel began carriage of Stadium, which replaced ASN.
Move of Fox to WSYX-DT3 and new affiliation with TBD TV
On January 1, 2021, Sinclair quietly sent a letter to cable and satellite providers saying that it had consolidated the Fox affiliations of stations in markets where it had been on a sister Cunningham or Deerfield-owned station onto Sinclair owned stations, putting those affiliations directly in Sinclair's control.[5] While most markets transitioned on that day, the transition of WTTE-DT1's programming schedule onto WSYX's spectrum would be held off until January 7, as that would be the day WWHO would convert to being the market's ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station, and it would easier for the transition of all the channels being moved or launched to occur then.
On that day, Sinclair began simulcasting "Fox 28" programming on WSYX-DT3, while moving Antenna TV to the newly created 6.4. WTTE's main signal would eventually carry Sinclair-owned TBD full-time. The simulcast continued until February 3 at 10 a.m., when the "Fox 28" schedule was now only available through WSYX-DT3.[6]
With the move of the "Fox 28" schedule to WSYX-DT3, it became the largest-market
The switch was contractually proper for cable and satellite providers, who continue to carry Fox programming on all of "Fox 28"'s existing low-number channel positions, while WTTE-DT1's carriage now depends on provider; some carry it as a low-number channel, while others no longer carry any of WTTE's channels.
In April 2021, Antenna TV and Stadium swapped channels, with Stadium moving to 6.4 and Antenna TV moving to WTTE-DT2.
News operation
Sinclair never launched an independent news department for WTTE prior to its acquisition of WSYX, though with WBFF and WPGH-TV in Pittsburgh launching news departments in the 1990s (WPGH-TV has since shut theirs down in favor of airing a 10 p.m. newscast from WPXI), it is likely Sinclair would have launched a news department for WTTE had it not acquired WSYX.
As a Fox affiliate, WTTE broadcast 25+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and 2+1⁄2 hours on Sundays).
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
28.1 | 480i | 16:9 |
TBD | TBD |
28.2 | Antenna | Antenna TV | ||
53.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WWHO-CW | The CW (WWHO) |
53.2 | 480i | Charge! | Charge! (WWHO-DT2) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WTTE was one of only two full-power television stations in the Columbus market (the other being WWHO) that honored the original
However, until March 3, as part of the
See also
- Channel 27 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 28 virtual TV stations in the United States
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTTE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (February 22, 2000). "Sharing the wealth". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
With Paramount's WWHO Columbus and WLWC Providence about to make a long-planned switch from the WB to UPN…
- ^ Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option, TVNewsCheck, May 15, 2012.
- ^ "GetTV Signs Big Affiliation Deal With Sinclair," from TVNewsCheck, June 23, 2014
- ^ "Sinclair - Acquisition of Fox affiliation". Sinclair Broadcast Group/National Cable Television Cooperative. January 1, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "FOX 28 over-the-air signal moves to channel WSYX 6.3". January 7, 2021.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WTTE
- ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.